Geneva, Las Vegas NAB2006 - April 24th, 2006

ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA) announced today the 'ISAN Video Games Schema', new descriptive metadata linked to the ISAN standard enabling the video games industry to accurately, permanently and uniquely identify each of its works.

"Fuelled by the rapid expansion of video elements in video games and the multitude of platforms to which they are delivered, pushed us to expand ISAN to the games industry", said Patrick Attallah, chief executive officer of ISAN-IA. "ISAN-IA will continue this year to expand the ISAN standard onto other segment of the audiovisual industry to include advertising and TV after tackling the film industry last year."

The new ISAN schema allows video games editors and publishers to register metadata that includes content rating systems and codes such as ESRB, getting ISAN allocated in return, enabling them to provide consumers and especially parents new and improved ways to evaluate their viewing choices for themselves and their families.

"The expansion of the ISAN standard to include video games is important because it provides a standardized vehicle for the entertainment industry to share essential information about each game title, and it helps make that information easily accessible to the consumer while enabling new rich advertising scenarios," said Chris Satchell, General Manager, Game Developer Group at Microsoft Corp. "Our library of Microsoft games is being loaded into the ISAN system, and we intend to have future products registered there as well."

ISAN (International Standard Audiovisual Number) is a voluntary numbering system for the identification of audiovisual works. ISAN gives registered works a unique, permanent, internationally recognized reference number, identifying the work and its related versions at every point of its lifecycle. ISAN is designed to be read by humans and processed in information systems, as a 24-bit hexadecimal digit.

ISAN is more than a number; it is a complete identification service, linking works to associated metadata by the registrant. ISAN is an important aid in providing and promoting audiovisual content. When implemented, ISAN will allow users to look up and use a globally unique, internationally recognized and permanent reference number for each audiovisual work registered in the ISAN-IA system. ISAN will be used in production and distribution systems, broadcasting applications and electronic program guides.

ISAN-IA invites video games editors and publishers to sign up and begin registration process by visiting www.isan.org.

About ISAN
The International Standard Audiovisual Number is a human and machine-readable number allowing users to uniquely identify A/V works and different versions of works. Together with web based registration and querying services provided by an ecosystem of supporting organizations, ISAN is the complete solution to audiovisual content identification.

ISAN is designed to help producers, distributors, broadcasters, scriptwriters, artists or rights-holders of audiovisual works to accurately track the use of their works and aid in providing, promoting and protecting them. Consumers will also benefit from ISAN, which can form the basis for sophisticated retrieval of programmes or information about them via advanced media services, e.g. digital TV electronic program guides and internet search engines.

The ISAN International Agency (ISAN-IA), founded by AGICOA, CISAC and FIAPF, maintains the central database of ISANs and associated metadata, and appoints and coordinates a worldwide network of ISAN Registration Agencies (ISAN RAs), servicing authorized ISAN users. For more information, please visit www.isan.org.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Notes for editors:

ISAN-IA (ISAN International Agency):
ISAN-IA (www.isan.org) has the responsibility for the overall ISAN central system maintenance and administration. ISAN-IA appoints and oversees the work of ISAN registration agencies which service users in processing their applications for ISANs. ISAN-IA is a Swiss non-profit association based in Geneva and headed by its founding members AGICOA, CISAC and FIAPF.

AGICOA (Association de Gestion Internationale Collective des Oeuvres Audiovisuelles/ Association of International Collective Management of Audiovisual Works):
AGICOA (www.agicoa.org) collects and redistributes royalties owed to producers for the cable retransmission of their programmes from a primary broadcaster's signal. Its members are producers associations all over the world, representing over 6,000 rightsholders.

CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers):
CISAC (www.cisac.org) works towards increased recognition and protection of creators' rights and manages the international standards and tools used by its members in the digital age. Through its 207 member societies in 109 countries, CISAC represents over 2 million authors and composers of musical, dramatic, literary, audio-visual, graphic and visual art works world-wide. CISAC has its headquarters in Paris and two regional offices, in Singapore and Buenos Aires.

FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations):
FIAPF (www.fiapf.org) represents film and television producers' associations from 27 countries worldwide, including India, the USA, Japan, Argentina and many European countries. FIAPF's political action focuses on the promotion and defense of copyright and producers' exploitation rights. FIAPF is also present at all the leading international forums on audio-visual technology. The organisation was also behind the creation of AGICOA in nineteen eighties.

For further information, please contact:

Patrick Attallah, Managing Director, ISAN-IA, on Tel: +41 (0)22 545 10 00
By email: patrick.attallah@isan.org

André Chaubeau, Managing Director, AGICOA, on Tel: +41 (0)22 340 32 00
By email: achaubeau@agicoa.org

Marianne Rollet, Director of Communications, CISAC on Tel: +33 (0)1 55 62 08 57
By email: marianne.rollet@cisac.org

Valérie Lépine, Managing Director, FIAPF, on Tel: +33 (0)1 44 77 97 50
By email: info@fiapf.org

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